Wait Times and Waitlists Questions and Answers

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Questions and Answers

Q. WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR GETTING HOME AND COMMUNITY SERVICES?

Anyone can make a referral for home and community care on your behalf: a family doctor, friend, family member, even you, yourself. If you think that you or someone you care about may benefit from our services, we encourage you to get in touch with us.

The first step is to call our main phone number 310-2222 (no area code required). If your health-care provider has already made the referral for you, you can expect a phone call from us once the referral has been processed.

You may be asked some questions so we fully understand your needs. Then, you will either be connected with a Care Coordinator, or we will refer you to the program or service that may be right for your needs.

With a specific emphasis on reducing wait times for patients with the greatest need, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care introduced a new measure for access to timely care, a five-day wait time for home nursing visits and personal support visits for patients with complex care needs. The objective is to ensure that home care visits for patients with high needs begin as soon as possible, and in not more than five days following the patient's discharge from hospital.

Health Quality Ontario (HQO) publicly reports provincially and by region about the five-day wait time measures on a quarterly basis. HQO's reports show the percentage of people who receive home care within five days of the service being confirmed by the Care Coordinator for each region.

In 2013-2014, we ensured that:

An average of 94 per cent of patients received their first nursing visit within five days

An average of 84 per cent of complex patients received their first personal support service visit within five days

To learn more about Health Quality Ontario (HQO) home care reporting and to see reports for each region visit
HQO home care reporting.

Staff are trained to assess your individual care needs. Just like in a hospital emergency room, those with the highest and most complex care needs will receive services first or will be prioritized for services. If you are assessed to have low to moderate care needs, you will have to wait for services to start by being on a wait list. Some people assessed with lower needs may be connected with other resources in the community.

If ever your condition worsens or your situation changes, you can call your local office at any time for a reassessment.

Q. HOW LONG WILL I WAIT FOR SERVICES IN MY REGION?

We are not always able to provide certain services to all patients, and must place some patients on a waitlist until capacity to provide that service becomes available. When a waitlist exists for a service, it is usually due to limited resources to provide the service; we prioritize providing care to their patients with the most urgent and complex care needs. A waitlist may also exist for certain services because there are too few clinicians in the community with the necessary expertise.